Notice: Undefined index: title in /home/content/91/11211591/html/wp-content/themes/rt_nebulae_wp/html/layouts/chrome_standard.php on line 91

Notice: Undefined index: centered in /home/content/91/11211591/html/wp-content/themes/rt_nebulae_wp/widgets/logo.php on line 68Notice: Undefined index: centered in /home/content/91/11211591/html/wp-content/themes/rt_nebulae_wp/widgets/logo.php on line 72

Notice: Undefined index: title in /home/content/91/11211591/html/wp-content/themes/rt_nebulae_wp/html/layouts/chrome_standard.php on line 91

Archive for January 8th, 2018

Astrology Update, 3rd Quarter Moon, January 8th, 2018: Lantern Light

08 January 2018Written by Madame Ximon0 Comments

There is a kind of paradox in the January 8th, 2018 3rd Quarter Moon in Libra, appropriate to the eternal balancing act of the sign. When Uranus in Aries stationed direct the day after the 1st of January’s two Full Moons, it ushered in an unusual time when all of the planets are currently direct, free from the hesitation and hiccups of the retrograde influence. In combination with Saturn’s recent entry into Capricorn, one of the two signs that it rules, it would seem as though the universe is aligned in favor of movement and getting things done. The 3rd Quarter Moon, however, is a time when we have been busy disseminating whatever intentions we planted at the New Moon and saw come into fruition at the Full Moon, and our energy is now beginning to peter out. Ironically, despite the forward motion and impetus to action of all of the planets, the 3rd Quarter Moon is a time for review, reassessment, and refinement of what actions we have taken toward our goals, similar to the need for such review during retrograde periods. The combination of the will to action and the need for review make this an especially good time to take actions related to shedding things we no longer need, breaking bad habits, and removing unwanted influences, so that whatever intentions we plant at the upcoming New Moon will be able to grow unimpeded.

January 6th saw Mars conjunct Jupiter in Scorpio, amplifying our need for action in some of the deepest and most intense areas of our lives, and this conjunction is still in orb to have a powerful effect on this 3rd Quarter Moon. Scorpio is emotional deep water, swirling around our drive, our ambition, our aggression, that is now touched with the fervor of faith. Neptune in Pisces is still trined to Jupiter, lending imagination to this brew, course-correcting our trajectories through our dreams, and bringing a sense of selflessness to our actions – we are more willing to act on behalf of others now and in service to the greater good, and more likely to want whatever we do to be meaningful on a deeper and more universal scale. But this 3rd Quarter Moon also sees Mars sextile to Pluto, and Jupiter moving toward his exact sextile with Pluto in the darkness shortly before the New Moon. Our will to action is powerful under the Plutonian influence, and as a result this is an especially good time to take action to correct power imbalances in our own lives and in our larger society.

Given that the 3rd Quarter Moon is a square aspect between the Sun in Capricorn and the Moon in Libra, there is a challenge here between our need for accomplishment and our instinctive desire not to upset the peace, our will to go-it-alone up the mountainside and that desire for companionship that got so stirred up at the Full Moon. Social Libra is the sign most desirous of harmony that is also most likely to find that harmony all-too-easily disrupted, so the tendency of the 1st and 3rd Quarter Moons to unsettle us with their emphasis on change finds our instincts especially sensitive to such disruptions now. We have this powerhouse of capability with Jupiter, Mars, Pluto, and Neptune in supportive aspects with each other, and a weary and uncertain Moon making us instinctually unwilling to rock the boat, even when the universe suggests that it is in serious need of rocking. And thanks to the trine from Mercury to Uranus and the square from Mercury to Chiron, both on the 6th and both still in effect, our minds at least are primed to do some of that rocking, able to learn from Chironian discomfort and gain insight from the rapid changes that Uranus triggers, even if those changes are the last thing the sensitive Libran Moon feels equipped to handle.

Libra’s ruler Venus conjuncts the Sun today, and at the time of the 3rd Quarter Moon she is close enough to be considered cazimi, “in the heart of the Sun.” In the few degrees leading up to this rarefied state, Venus has been considered combust, “under the rays of the Sun,” her loving and companionable qualities hidden, face and form burnt, uncertain of her own power, and hesitant to receive affection. That said, Venus is strong in Capricorn, well-equipped to endure the Sun’s fire in pursuit of her more radiant self. For once she reaches the cazimi degrees, all of her impurities and uncertainties are burnt away, and she shines with the brilliance imparted by the awareness of the Sun. Both the Sun and Venus sextiled Jupiter a few hours before the 3rd Quarter Moon, bringing a sense of faith and optimism to this new awareness of our more evolved capacity for love and connection. Now is the time to recognize who we have become in pursuit of the affection that became such an emotional challenge during the Full Moon’s opposition to Venus. And because the Sun and Venus both conjunct Pluto and Mars the day after this 3rd Quarter Moon, now is the time to recognize the power and urgency of our connections as well, with all of their practical and emotional impact boosted to the hilt at a time when our instincts turn toward peace and quiet. With the Moon squaring Sun, Venus, and Pluto at this time, we are challenged to accept affection, to believe that we are worthy to have love exert its power in our lives. In the cold of winter, heading into the dark of the Moon, Venus in the heart of the Sun becomes our sustaining light, drawing our reluctant hearts forward to press on through the night.

*******

If you enjoyed this post, please consider becoming one of my supporters on Patreon, where I have posted the digital art that accompanies today’s analysis here, along with some background on its creation. Not only will you get an inside look into my divinatory art, but you will also help keep this blog alive and me writing and creating art regularly. I am incredibly grateful for my supporters!

Or, if you’re not into the monthly pledge thing but still want to show some support and get some art in the process, please visit my RedBubble page, where a selection of my digital art and my divinatory drawings are available printed on everything from clothing to notebooks to cellphone cases, as well as art prints. My Etsy shop is also a good place to visit for both printed art and wearables, as well as my hand-crafted herbal dream pillows. Every sale helps me to continue what I do here, and I deeply appreciate the support!

All aspect times used in creating this post are calculated for Pacific Standard Time. I tend to speak in broad terms when I reference time on this blog, referring to time-frames like “morning” or “afternoon” rather than specific times, since I still have a lot of friends on the East Coast who read these posts and I’d like them to be pertinent to those friends as well as folks here on the West Coast. Readers from further abroad will need to adjust time-frames accordingly.

Please keep in mind that we all have different responses to the aspects of the day because we all have different natal and progressed charts with which these aspects interact. If you would like to know more about your own natal and progressed charts in order to better understand how the aspects of the day will affect you, please take a look at my astrological services, and let’s get started on helping you to understand your life better! The threads of fate can only be adjusted when we start from a place of deep self-knowing.